Cookstown Area Plan 2010Preamble

The Cookstown Area Plan 2010 is a development plan prepared by the Planning Service, an Agency within the Department of the Environment under the provisions of Part III of the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991.

This document comprises the written statement of the Cookstown Area Plan 2010. It should be read in association with the accompanying maps. In the event of a contradiction between the written statement and a map, the provisions of the written statement will prevail.

The Planning (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 amends existing legislation contained in the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1972, the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 and the Strategic Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1999. Under this Order development plans are required to be ‘in general conformity with’ the Regional Development Strategy for Northern Ireland 2025 Shaping our Future (RDS) published in September 2001. Article 29 of this Order declares the Cookstown Area Plan 2010 to be an ‘excepted plan’ for which the need to be in general conformity with the RDS does not apply. The RDS will however, be a material consideration in determining individual planning applications and planning appeals within the Cookstown District.

Notice was given to Cookstown District Council on 9th August 1995 that the Department intended to prepare a new development plan for the District for the period 1995 to 2010. A Notice of Intention to prepare the Plan was published in the local and provincial press in the week beginning 11th September 1995 and comments were invited from the public and interested parties in respect of the issues to be addressed in the Plan. Consultations were also carried out with Cookstown District Council, community groups, Government Departments and Agencies, statutory undertakers and other appropriate bodies. All representations received were taken into account in preparing the Preliminary Proposals of the Plan.

The Department published the Cookstown Area Plan 2010 Preliminary Proposals on 20th November 1997. These were placed on public display in the Tourism Information Centre in Cookstown from Thursday 20th November – Saturday 22nd November 1997. A notice advising that the Department had prepared the Preliminary Proposals was also published in the local and provincial press and the Belfast Gazette in the two weeks beginning 3rd November 1997 and comments were invited from the public and interested parties over a 14 week period. During this time meetings were held with the District Council and a number of community groups. Representations were subsequently received from the District Council, a number of statutory and voluntary bodies and individual members of the public. All representations made in response to the publication of Preliminary Proposals were considered and taken into account in preparing the Draft Plan, which was published in November 1999.

The statutory period for objection to the Draft Plan expired on 17th December 1999. Consideration of the 130 objections to the Draft Plan received within the statutory period caused the Department to request the Planning Appeals Commission to hold a public inquiry into the relevant objections and to report to the Department on the Inquiry. The Inquiry opened on 3rd October and closed on 13th December 2000.

The Commission subsequently reported to the Department on its consideration of the objections. The recommendations contained in the report by the Commission have been fully considered by the Department in finalising the outcome of the objections and the consequent revisions to the Plan. Full details of the Department’s response to the Commission’s recommendations are set out in the Cookstown Area Plan 2010 Adoption Statement.

In order to bring a number of changes to the Draft Plan into effect, including related additional changes recommended by the Planning Appeals Commission, it was necessary to formally modify the Draft Plan and submit the modifications to further consultation. This was in accordance with Article 8 (1) of the Planning (NI) Order and Regulations 1991(as amended). The modifications were published in May 2002 and in response to this process, a total of 7 submissions were received within the 6 weeks statutory period. Of the 7 submissions, only 4 could be classified as objections. After careful consideration by the Department, it was concluded that there was no need for a further public inquiry to be held and that the proposed modifications would remain as proposed. The modifications are incorporated into the final Plan and further details are contained in the Adoption Statement.

The Department is now publishing the Cookstown Area Plan 2010. This document incorporates the amendments outlined in the Adoption Statement and replaces all previous versions of the Cookstown Area Plan 2010.

In preparing the Draft Plan, the Department published a Technical Supplement providing technical information which has influenced the policies and proposals contained in the Plan. The information contained in the Technical Supplement was completed prior to the publication of the Draft Plan in November 1999. The Technical Supplement is not part of the statutory Plan.

Nothing in the Plan should be read as a commitment that public resources will be provided for any specific project. All proposals for expenditure by the Department are subject to economic appraisal and will also have to be considered having regard to the overall availability of resources.

All maps are reproduced by permission of the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office Crown Copyright Reserved 2004.